The archive rabbits are excited for the Easter holidays - and for our new display, which launches after the break! The Archives & Special Collections service will be closed from Thursday 2nd April, reopening on Thursday 9th. We wish all our students and researchers a lovely and relaxing break.

We’ve been getting crafty! Archive staff and volunteers have measured, cut, folded and tied new boxes for 27 of E.H. Shepard’s sketchbooks. It’s hard work, but it’s so satisfying to see them neatly repackaged and safe in their little custom-made jackets. 27 down, 42 to go…

Another call for the hive-mind of Bluesky! Can any paleography experts identify the occupation of Susannah Cowell, shown here on her student registration card? She was a student at Battersea Polytechnic in 1927, taking a course in Laundry Work. #archives #educationhistory #trickyhandwriting

We love making connections between collections, so here are items from the E. H. Shepard archive relating to his work on an abridged edition of James Boswell's 'Life of Johnson', together with an 1822 edition of the original from our Thomas Farrer library of rare books. #archives #books #boswell

On #InternationalWomensDay we've been discovering traces of women in our collections who fought for equality. Lilian Lenton appears in our Dalcroze Society archives, but was also a prominent suffragette. Read our blog post here: blogs.surrey.ac.uk/archives/ #suffragettes #IWD

It's #WorldBookDay so please enjoy these amazing illustrations by Wilhelm von Kaulbach for Johannes von Goethe's "Reineke Fuchs", or Reynard the Fox, who was a well-known figure in medieval fables. This book is from our Thomas Farrer Library collection of rare books. Ref. TF/1231

It's #worldwildlifeday and here are a group of beautiful coots, drawn by illustrator E. H. Shepard. Shepard, best known for his illustrations for 'Winnie-the-Pooh', often made studies of wildlife in his sketchbooks. Ref. ST/SB/7, (c) The Shepard Trust #coots #ehshepard #eyawildlife

The research was conducted by scientists from BT Group, the University of Nottingham @uniofnottingham.bsky.social , the University of Surrey @archives-unisurrey.bsky.social , and the University of Warwick @uni-of-warwick.bsky.social

We were delighted to support the Lunch & Learn event on campus, discovering Guildford’s Queer History 🏳️‍🌈 Using material from our University and Student Union archives, we put together a display exploring the traces left by the LGBT+ student community and their allies. #lgbt #lgbthistorymonth

Celebrating all the women and girls around the world today who study, teach and pioneer in the sciences, and especially here at @uniofsurrey.bsky.social. ⚛️🔬 #WomeninScience #GirlsinSTEM

🚨New archive display on campus!!🚨 We're celebrating the life and career of dancer, choreographer and pioneering movement director Geraldine Stephenson (1925-2017). From Doctor Who to War & Peace, she worked on a huge variety of productions 📺🎬💃 🔍Find us on the Ground Floor of the Library.

On #holocaustmemorialday, we're sharing the Ephraim and Neumayer collection. Vera Ephraim was a Dalcroze Eurhythmics teacher and her husband Hans Neumayer was a blind musician and teacher. Both Germans of Jewish ancestry, they were killed in the Holocaust.

New Archive Catalogue! We are very pleased to release our first catalogue for the archive collection of Carol-Lynne Moore, movement analyst and consultant. Read our latest blog post to find out more about this fascinating collection. blogs.surrey.ac.uk/archives/202...

Behind the scenes project work: demounting and repackaging original artwork from the Shepard Trust collection of art by illustrator E. H. Shepard. #archiveconservation #ehshepard #archives

This is a copy of the earliest known printed map of Exeter, produced in 1587. Commissioned by John Hooker, Chamblerlain of Exeter, from the engraver Remigius Hogenberg, it formed the basis for all printed maps of Exeter for more than a century. 📷 Townsend Maps T12 #MapMonday #MappingOurExeter

We’re excited to work with Dalcroze UK and The Song School on a National Lottery #HeritageFund project to engage audiences and explore the future potential of the Dalcroze Archive at Surrey, with thanks to #NationalLottery Players. #Dalcroze #Archives

Good luck to all our students currently sitting their exams! ☘️ For light relief, here's a spoof exam paper from the student publication The Battersea College of Technology Magazine 1964 - feel free to attempt answers to any of these in the comments! 🍿

We're taking this as our nudge to bring one of Christie's books to the top of our #toberead pile...

What time is it? it's time for another Tenuously Christmassy post, and it's all about reindeer! Were there reindeer on the Mary Rose? No, but it's Christmas, and we have to try and be a bit festive...

It may not be snowing but we're feeling very Christmassy when looking back at this 1987 campus photo ❄ So we'll take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy Christmas season! 🎅 Archives & Special Collections will be closed from today until 5 January -see you in 2026! ©University of Surrey

On the 5th day of Christmas my archive gave to me… A late 19th century recipe for mince pies. Love them or loathe them, they certainly signal Christmas is near. #Archive #Christmas #mincepies #food #festive #Arundel #Sussex #history #recipe #documents

Today is the 146th birthday of Rudolf Laban, born #OTD in 1879. 🎉 Laban was one of the most prominent movement theorists of the 20th Century, influencing dancers, actors and choreographers. This image shows him on his birthday in 1955 at the Art of Movement Studio, Addlestone. Ref. L/F/3/70

It's December, lets have a wintry post! ❄️☃️ Here is a James MacIntosh Lantern slide featuring a very snowy shot of the Dunkeld Cathedral grounds. These photographs are undated but are estimated to have been created in the early 20th century. James was an avid amateur photographer of the local area.

We hope you've enjoyed delving into our archives with us for Explore Your Archive week! 💫 As a final note, we just want to say: our archives are also your archives. We look after them for you, and everyone is welcome - for research, interest or enjoyment! #EYAYourArchives #ExploreYourArchive

Our archive may be small, but it’s mighty - housing over 6,000 items that trace the evolution of psychiatric care through Bethlem Royal Hospital, the Maudsley & Warlingham Park. Whether you're a researcher, student, or curious visitor, there's a story here waiting to be uncovered. #EYAYourArchives

We've been delighted to work with a group of post-graduate English students who have been conserving student registration cards from our predecessor institution Battersea Polytechnic. It's been fascinating to uncover some of the stories of these students from our history. 🙂 #EYAYourArchive

We hold over 100 dance collections, including the Betty Meredith-Jones archive. She was a dance and movement education practitioner who worked with many different groups, including children, people with Parkinsons and the elderly. #EYAInclusion

Our #ExploreYourArchive theme today is Digital! Here's our archivist Simon working on the digital records in the daCi Archive; just like paper archives, digital archives require careful management to preserve them. Read Simon's #WorldDigitalPreservationDay blog via our website. #EYADigital

Today's #ExploreYourArchive theme is Pets… so we've dug out this footage of movement theorist Rudolf Laban's pet cat, Ico! 🐈‍⬛ 📽️These clips are taken from amateur film recordings within the Rudolf Laban Archive [L/J uncat.]. 🔗 See our website for more details on our Laban collections. #EYAPets

Did you know the Syon Abbey Collection has the longest date range of any of our collections? Items date from the early 15th century to the 21st century! This book of hours dates to c 1430s and includes a prayer for Syon Abbey's founder, Henry V. 📷 EUL MS 262/2 #ExploreYourArchive #EYAMedieval

Shh… Shh… It’s oh so quiet… Or is it? From collaborative corners & gaps in collections. Find out what #EYASilence in the archives really means for #ExploreYourArchive Day 4. @arascot.bsky.social @exploreyourarchive.bsky.social #archives @dmu.ac.uk @librarydmu.bsky.social

Here’s a question for you: why would a medieval manuscript be reprinted almost 400 years after its conception? As part of #EYAMedieval, we have uncovered the oldest item in our collections, a present from a mysterious Mr. R. Hill. #Presents #ArchiveAdventCalendar #RareBooks #EarlyModern

Compared to the relaxed rules and 24/7 opening enjoyed here @surreylib.bsky.social, the library rules from our predecessor Battersea Polytechnic in 1916 included not taking the inkpots and silence in the Reading Room! 🤫 Ref. BA/L/2 © University of Surrey Archives & Special Collections #EYASilence

We're going (quasi) medieval today for #ExploreYourArchive. This vivid illustration from the early 1900s is for a production of 'Sleeping Beauty', by Madge Atkinson, creator of Natural Movement dance. Ref. NM/N/2 © University of Surrey Archives and Special Collections #EYAMedieval

Today's #ExploreYourArchive theme is Beauty, and we have historic hats and hair! These studies are by illustrator E. H. Shepard. From chic Roman ladies to a magnificent Regency hairdos, these are styles for all occasions! Ref. ST Box 2/1 © The Trustees of The Shepard Trust #EYABeauty

It's #ExploreYourArchive week and we're starting off with #EYAConservation, highlighting the essential work done to preserve our collections and make them accessible. This week, we've worked on items from our E. H. Shepard 'The Wind in the Willows' collection, ahead of digitisation for an event.

#HappyNationalIllustrationDay2025 To celebrate, we’re uncovering the creative process behind E.H. Shepard’s illustrations for Everybody’s Pepys (1926) and Everybody’s Boswell (1930). Read more on our blog: blogs.surrey.ac.uk/archives/202... 📷 ST Sketchbook 38, © The Trustees of The Shepard Trust

Happy #WorldKindnessDay! What can we learn about kindness from Winnie-the-Pooh and friends? Line illustrations copyright ©The Trustees of The Shepard Trust Colouring of the illustrations copyright ©1970 and 1973 The Trustees of The Shepard Trust and HarperCollinsPublishers Limited [Ref EGM/1/32/1]

Today is #WorldDigitalPreservationDay! This year, the theme is 'Why Preserve?' It's a tricky question, but our archivist Simon has had a go at providing an answer - read our latest blog post to find out more! blogs.surrey.ac.uk/archives/202... #digipres #wdpd2025 #digitalarchives

And now for our latest 'Unlikely Objects in the Archive' post, we have: molecular models! These were created by a Physics student in the 1960s, and then used as a teaching aid in schools for over 25 years before being donated to our collections. #scienceteaching #physics

Some of the fabulous mid-20th century electro-plated nickel silver-ware objects in the University's archive, used in Battersea Polytechnic's Domestic Science training restaurant to keep guests' food warm. You can see these on display outside our Research Room on campus. #universitycollections

We're showcasing some of the objects in our University Archives, dating back to 1891 when we started out as Battersea Polytechnic in south London. This pennant dates from the 1960s, when the Polytechnic became a University at Guildford. It may have been waved at sports events. #EYAEducation

This month we're very pleased to have the September feature over on the #ArchivesHub monthly blog. Our blog explores the background of Classical Greek Dance, a fascinating early 20th Century dance movement, using items from two of our dance collections. #dancearchives

Calling the hive mind of Bluesky, and in particular those with paleography skills or an interest in early 20th century cookery. We think the 'Occupation' listed here is 'Fancy Rose Maker' - opinions sought on whether this is correct and what this job entailed... #paleography #educationhistory

Wishing a Happy Birthday to Percy Bysshe Shelley, born #OTD in 1792! This little volume of his collected works is from our Thomas Farrer Collection of rare books and has some beautiful marbling on the inner covers.

1/2 We're delighted to be launching a staff project aimed at conserving our collections while providing a wellbeing and social activity. @surreylib.bsky.social colleagues joined us to clean and repackage early 20th century student registration cards, and discovered some hidden stories...

Lovely location at Watts Gallery near Guildford for joining a cross collaboration of researchers from @uniofsurrey.bsky.social School of Arts, Humanities and Creative Industries to talk about interdisciplinary research and seeing where our archive collections could connect.

Dancing in the research room! 💃 We welcomed a group from ‪‬Grinnell College, Iowa to our Research Room to investigate the links between dance, and language using our #rudolflaban archive, and in particular, the Czech dancer Milca Mayerova. @grinnellcollege.bsky.social #dancearchives #archives

In honour of #WorldBeeDay, here is a honeybee, drawn lifesize by E. H. Shepard for 'Winnie-the-Pooh'. Ref. EGM/1/10 (c) HarperCollins Publishers Limited

A lovely morning working with one of our volunteers on a project to clean and rehouse hundreds of early 20th century student registration cards. A chance to explore some forgotten stories and have a natter! #archivevolunteers #chat #wellbeing #studentlife #archiveconservation